American Shipper

   The Web-based global trade management solutions provider QuestaWeb said this week its foreign trade zone division doubled its customer base in 2013.    The division, founded in 2009 to meet the specialized compliance needs of companies employing FTZs, now counts firms in the automotive, electronics, manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceutical, biotech and wholesale distribution industries among […]

   Port-related projects received more than one-fifth of the $474 million in TIGER grants awarded Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.    Almost half of the 52 projects selected, garnering $123.4 million, were designated for rural areas.    TIGER is a highly competitive, discretionary grant program for multimodal and multi-jurisdictional projects that typically don’t qualify […]

   The G6 Alliance said it will cancel two sailings in early October as part of its vessel maintenance programme and in connection with the National Holiday in China.    The founding of China is celebrated on Oct. 1, and many businesses across the country are closed for seven days around that time.    Voided sailings will […]

   The American Institute for International Steel called antidumping cases filed earlier this week with the U.S. government by a group of domestic reinforcing bar manufacturers against suppliers in Turkey and Mexico the wrong way to deal with a depressed market.    AIIS warned the domestic rebar industry, after more than five years of weak markets for […]

   With an eye toward expanding its logistics services reach into both the United States and United Kingdom, Danish group DSV has purchased SBS Worldwide Holdings for an undisclosed amount.    DSV’s purchase of SBS, which reported 2012 revenues of $77.87 million, is expected to double cargo volumes on U.S.-U.K. routes for the company’s air and sea […]

   In implementing provisions laid out in the MAP-21 act, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released guidance regarding an Oct. 1 deadline on the registration for brokerage companies and the filing of surety bonds.    Relevant parties must now register for broker status with the agency. The organization will still allow carriers to interline, […]

   The third party logistics company syncreon Holdings Ltd. said Thursday it has reached an agreement with the private investment firm Centerbridge Partners, which will make a “substantial minority equity investment” in the company.    Existing shareholders GenNx360 Capital Partners and Enright family-related shareholders will retain significant equity ownership in the company following the transaction. […]

DFDS said the liner carrier’s share in the company was reduced from 31.3 percent to zero after the sale of 4.65 million shares. Maersk remains a major player in the European short-sea market via its Seago Line subsidiary.

   Freight expenditures fell in August by 1.5 percent compared to the previous month, representing the first decline after three months of gains, according to the Cass Freight Index Report.    Year-over-year, expenditures rose 3.4 percent. In August, the number of shipments grew 1.7 percent over July’s total, but fell 0.4 percent when compared to […]

   Reno, Nev.-based Bender Group has leased a 50,296-square-foot distribution center in Kansas City to serve the central U.S. market.    Bender already boasts distribution centers in Winchester, Va., and Riverside, Calif.    “Adding Kansas City to our existing fulfillment DC network bolsters our ability to ship to over 98 percent of the entire U.S. […]

Nexus Consulting of Alexandria, Va., said the attacks were carried out by a terrorist group calling itself Al-Furqan and its followers are “seeking to disrupt the canal with extreme means, including deadly force.”

The world’s largest package delivery company said that by having more control of the Costa Rican operations it can better connect the Central American country’s shippers to its global transportation network.

   A researcher at MIT has developed a test for small and midsized companies to determine if they should expand their business international.    The study by Donald R. Lessard, which was commissioned by DHL Express, found that firms should analyze value propositions using the “RAT Test” to see if they are “Relevant, Appropriable and […]

   Port Freeport in Texas has reached a $19.6-million settlement in the Velasco Terminal Phase 1 Berth 7 project — a development, started in 2007, that showed signs of stability issues once it was completed.    “These funds came as a result of a mediated settlement between all parties and insurance proceeds,” Glenn Carlson, the port’s […]

Improperly weighed boxes present safety hazards for ships, their crews, other cargo on board, workers in port facilities handling containers, and on roads. These containers also lead to incorrect ship stowage and accidents.

   Third party logistics services provider Norbert Dentressangle has secured a three-year contract worth more than 100 million pounds ($155.9 million) with fashion retailer ASOS for distribution center management in the United Kingdom.    Norbert Dentressangle has been managing ASOS’ global fulfillment center — a 1.1-million-square-foot facility that the fashion firm will soon expand by […]

   Balder, a self-unloading bulk carrier owned by the Norwegian shipping company Torvald Klaveness and managed by CSL, has become the first vessel to operate in the U.S. Emissions Control Area using a scrubber manufactured by Norway-based Clean Marine.    Using the Exhaust Gas Cleaning System allows the ship to remove sulfur from exhaust and […]

   Det Norske Veritas Group finished the first half of the year with revenues of NOK 6.67 billion ($1.08 billion), a year-over-year growth of 16 percent fueled primarily by oil and gas, and maritime growth.    DNV’s net profit rose from NOK 202 million during the first half of 2012 to NOK 417 million during […]

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company has been profitable for 35 consecutive quarters, with CEO Art Mesher saying its operating margin has surpassed projections, and it has cash to invest in further acquisitions.

A decade ago CFOs took aim at their supply chains to reduce inventory levels and take cost out. With inventory levels near historic lows the finance department is now chasing other opportunities to reduce costs and increase cash flow. However, American Shipper’s research demonstrates that many shippers have achieved mixed results working with finance. This […]